Body-stretcher.



No. 785,639. PATENTED MAR. 21, 1905.

W. w. SEIDLER.

BODY STRETGHER.

'APPLIOATION FILED AUG.17, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1 wizlmwom No." 785,639. PATENTED MAR. 21, 1905.

.w. w. SEIDLER.

BODY STRETGHER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 PATENTED MAR. 21,1905.

V W. W. SEIDLER.

BODY STRETGHER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.17, 1904.

Patented March 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WILSON SEIDLER, OF BOVVIE, TEXAS.

BODY-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,639, dated March21, 1905.

Application filed August 17, 1904. Serial No. 221,136.

T on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WIL IAM WILSON SEID- LER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bowie, in the county of Montague, State of Texas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Body-Stretchers;and I do hereby declare the fol-lowing to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to devices for stretching and exercising themuscles of the human body, and has for its object to provideanarrangement by which the body may be stretched in different wayseither by the person himself or by another.

OtllQPObjGCtS and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, and it will be understood that modifications of thespecific construction shown may be made and any suitable materials maybe used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and inwhichlike characters of reference indicate similar parts in the severalviews, Figure 1 is a view showing the apparatus in use to stretch thebody, leg, and neck muscles. Fig. 2 is a view showing the apparatus usedto stretch the arm-muscles. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of thehead-bandage. Fig. 4-. is a perspective view of the wrist-bandage. Fig.5 is a perspective view of the ankle-bandage. Fig. 6 is a view of amodified form of head-bandage. Fig. 7 is a view showing a modified formof the lever mechanism. Fig. 8 is an end elevation.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a bed or table 7,surrounded by a frame 8, having pulleys 9 therein. Bandages 10 arerovided, which will be hereinafter described, and are secured to thefeet of the patient to be treated, as shown, these bandages beingprovided with hooks 11, to which are connected the free ends of cables12, which join to form a main cable 13. which is engaged with one of thepulleys 9 in the frame.

A head-bandage lL is provided which is disposed about the head of thepatient, and this bandage is provided with a hook at its top,

with which is engaged a second cable 16, and this cable is also engagedwith one of the pulleys 9 of the frame.

The frame includes two upright portions 17 and 18 and connecting topportions 19, the upright portion 17 being disposed at the foot of thetable 7, While the upright portion 18 is disposed at the head thereof,and the pulleys with which the cables 13 and 16 are engaged are. securedto the portions 17 and 18, respectively, and the free ends of the twocables are secured to the ends of a pair of levers 20, which are pivotedtogether, as shown, and these levers may be operated, as will be readilyunderstood, to draw the cables through the pulleys, thus stretching theneck, body, and leg muscles of the patient. The levers are disposeddirectly above the table 7 in such a way that they may be operated bythe patient or by an attendant, as desired. The uprights l7 and 18include vertical end pieces a and connecting horizontal rails b.

When it is desired to stretch the arm-muscles of a patient, the frame 8is shifted to bring its upright portions to the sides of the table, andthe cables are connected with bandages 21, secured to the wrists of thepatient and having hooks 22, both of the cables 12 being engaged withone of the hooks, while the cable 16 is engaged with the other. Thelevers 20 are now operated by the attendant to tighten the cables andstretch the arms of the patient, as will be readily understood.

Each of the upright portions 17 and 18 includes a transverse member 23,having a longitudinal slot 24 extending throughout a portion of itslength, and to these members are attached the pulleys 9, with which thecables 13 and 16 are engaged. Slidably mounted in the slots 24 areblocks 25, having means for clamping them at difierent points of theirsliding movement, and to these blocks are connected pulleys 26, withwhich the cables 13 and 16 are also engaged, and it will be readilyunderstood that by moving the blocks 25 toward and away from the pulleys9 the cables may be adjusted to suit dilferentconditions,

movement of the blocks and the pulleys 26 I taking up any slack in thecable.

The bandages each comprise ankle-straps 27, provided with buckles 27 andheel-straps 28, the hooks 11 being secured to the latter. Thewrist-bandages 21 each include a portion 29, having straps and 31secured thereto at one end and arranged for connection thereto at theirremaining ends by means of buckles 32 to hold the portions 29 and thestraps to the wrists, and secured at its ends to one edge of the portion29, adjacent to the ends thereof, is a strap 33, arranged to lie betweenthe thumb and first finger, these straps 33 having hooks 22 securedthereto.

The head-bandage 14 consists of two straps 3a and 35, secured togetherbetween their ends, the ends of each strap being connected by buckles36, the point of union of the two straps being arranged to lie upon thetop of the head of the patient with the strap 34 extending beneath thechin and the strap 35 extending around the back of the head.Connectingstraps 37 are secured at their ends of the straps 34 and 35and lie one against either cheek of the wearer, and a strap 38 issecured at its ends to the strap 34: and is arranged to lie against thechin of the wearer. The hook 15 is secured to the head-bandage at thepoint of union of the two straps 34 and 35.

In Fig. 7 there is shown a modified form of the invention especiallyadapted for stretching the arms or for stretching the head withoutstretching the body-muscles, this form consisting of two members a andb, which are pivoted together adjacent to their upper ends and which areprovided with sharpened pins 0 in their lower ends. A lever (Z isemployed, and when in use this lever is passed through the hook 15 ofthe head-bandage, the members a and 6 being disposed with their pins 0engaged with the surface upon which the table 7 rests. The lower end ofthe lever d is disposed between the upper ends of the members a and 6,these members acting as a pivot for the lever, and the lever may bemoved to stretch the muscles of the head and neck, as will be readilyunderstood. In stretching the arms singly the same apparatus is used andthe lever d is'connected with the wrist-bandage.

and the pulleys may be secured to the walls of a room.

What is claimed is- 1. An apparatus of the class described comprising aframe, pulleys mounted in the frame, cables engaged with the pulleys,means for attaching the cables at one end to the human body, means formoving the cables through the pulleys to stretch the body, and meansindependent of the cable-moving means for taking up slack in the cables.

2. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a frame includingupright portions arranged for disposal at opposite sides of a table, apulley secured to each upright portion, a cable engaged with eachpulley, means carried by one end of each cable for attachment to thebody of a patient lying upon the table, a lever connected to theremaining end of each cable,'said levers being pivoted together formovement to draw the cables to stretch the body of the patient, saidlevers being disposed for operation by the patient.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM WILSON SEIDLER.

Witnesses:

0. W. PRESTON, W. F. MULL.

If desired, the framework may be omitted

